Sneaky, Aurena. Well, she was right that I would try upgrading the skill. Meh.
Well, I didn’t know what to say when I first reviewed all these System messages. I mean, what could I possibly say more than “I ACTUALLY GAVE MY FIRST CONCERT, AHHHHH!” OMG, my first idol concert and I made it through all three songs as I planned, and I only had an emotional meltdown at the very end of it. Ha ha! What a wonderful way to welcome the new year!
Like I said, today was the very first day of the new year. The 1st of WinterSun in the year 2679, and it would also be my last day in Carine village. As I planned it with Elliane, Lorena, and Ruld, I would travel with them to Firwood to help them with their problems, in addition to continuing my career as an adventurer and, wait for it … AN IDOL! A true, bonafide idol, man!
Haha! Aaanyways … After breakfast, Barathan arrived at our house, almost too punctually, to pack up all the furniture I got from Count Helvas. Although they were presents, I gave them back to Ellaine, since our party couldn’t use them. We had no real home, and it would be a total waste to leave them in our current house.
He and his group of butlers packed everything onto the train of carriages, and we then picked up Lorena and Ruld, who finished giving their farewells to both families and friends. Funnily enough, I believed the majority of the village became my “fan” at yesterday’s show according to my number of [The Light] followers. As a way to thank them for attending and being an amazing crowd, I gave them one final sermon and [Prayer] before leaving, acting my role as their shrine maiden one last time.
Reaching the 100 fans milestone was already awesome, as it gave me another damage modifier for my holy spells, but hearing the villagers call me the “best clergywoman ever” was quite endearing, especially when they told me to return one day and hold another idol concert. I had the suspicion they also wanted the free food, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt.
Once we departed to the Helvas mansion with Barathan as our carriage driver, I instantly shut my eyes, as I had a slight headache from what happened yesterday. It wasn’t anything serious, just a bit of fatigue. The whole concert was an emotional rollercoaster for me, and it all climaxed once I performed “Promise.” Ballads were wonderfully emotional if done right, and the music I chose for it was too overwhelming for me. That song … I did my very best.
While I wasn’t actually sleeping—just resting—I took a chance to review the new skill I got: [Idol Lv. 1]. Although I was excited to have unlocked the [The Light]’s [Sacred Amp] milestone, and knowing I could get rid of my dark element weakness with the next, I still found immense gratification from [Idol]. It was like the esteem of getting a medal after you got 1st place in a competition. This skill was a badge of honor to me, proving how I successfully fulfilled the first stage of my long-awaited dream.
Now, aside from the fact that Aurena secretly slipped a message to me, knowing full well I would try using SP to upgrade the skill, I took a look at how the skill actually works. While I haven’t registered a song or tested it out yet, I could presume from the description that any song I registered would probably begin displaying RPG mechanics. It sounded similar to a bard ability, honestly.
I didn’t have time now, but I would try it out in Firwood or maybe on our way there.
“Lady Hestia, please wake up. We have arrived.” I heard Barathan say from the coach’s seat.
Opening my eyes, I could see Saori packing up teacups and a teapot back into her storage, while Lorena and Ruld began anxiously grooming themselves, making sure nothing was wrong with their appearances. Since they would meet Ellaine, the fief lord’s daughter, they were wearing their cleanest clothes. Although they knew they weren’t in trouble, they still trembled as the carriage entered through the gates.
Once in front of the mansion’s doors, we left the carriage to see butlers and maids loading luggage into clean white wagons. We were let inside the mansion, where Ellaine was sipping tea in our usual meeting room.
“Lady Hestia! I am glad you have made it. May the light guide your path on this brilliant LightDay,” Ellaine greeted me with an elegant curtsey as always. “I managed to attend your concert yesterday. I must say, your voice was heavenly, and I especially was fond of your second song. You made my heart skip a beat, I must admit.”
Is that so? I’m pretty sure Saori mentioned you cried during my third song? I kept that to myself as it would be rude to tease her now.
Replying with an equally flawless curtsey, I greeted her with a Korean heart sign by overlapping my thumb with my index finger. “That’s great to hear. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lady Ellaine. As a traveling ‘shrine maiden,’ I bless you in Goddess Aurena’s name.”
After giving my greetings, I introduced Lorena and Ruld to her, as they were gonna travel with us, after all. Once she nodded, she turned her head to Lorena and called for her.
“Uhm, y-yes, your ladyship!” Lorena responded, kneeling before her.
“You may rise,” Ellaine ordered with the wave of her hand, maintaining a dignified expression. “I have heard your plea from Lady Hestia, and, using my authority as the daughter of Lord Count Helvas, I shall grant it. I will revoke your serfdom to Helvas County, making you a free woman now—a yeoman; however, that will also mean you will relinquish any right to call for our house’s support. You will no longer be affiliated to House Helvas. Will you accept, Lorena?”
Lorena stayed silent for a bit, thinking about it, but raised her head and looked Ellaine directly in the eyes. “Yes, my lady. I accept.”
Ellaine nodded before continuing in a reserved tone. “Good. I, Ellaine Fierro Helvas, revoke your status as a subject of House Helvas. You are officially a yeoman now. Once we reach Firwood, do not forget to re-issue your ID from the temple and apply for citizenship if you wish to stay in Firwood.”
“I thank you so very much, my lady. I will remember your mercy for my whole life.” Lorena bowed deeply before the young noble lady.
Once Ellaine did her duty as a noble, we all went outside. When I saw the amount of luggage packed into the wagons, it reminded me I had to hand over something to Ellaine. Barathan called over four butlers at my wish and I took out two boxes filled with ripe macula plants for them to place inside the wagons.
The mana absorbing macula plant was a stable for alchemy due to the mana water they produced once fully grown. If the earth was saturated with mana, they could grow up in a few seconds, making them invaluable for any alchemist. On the other hand, if the ground was low on mana, these things would probably die out.
Master Kush gave me two bags full of macula seeds before he left, so I could continue sparring with Saori and Tasianna. Since high mana concentration could cause monsters to spawn from thin air, my group did a full clean up around the concert area. Since we used a ton of magic to keep the concert operational, we ended up with two boxes full of macula plants
As per the agreement we made at the beginning of our stay here, I could continue training in Helvas County, but I had to hand over all the macula plants to House Helvas. These boxes were the spoils of my concert.
Once Ellaine accepted them, we entered the carriages. Lorena and Ruld would enter one of the three servant carriages, while Ellaine, her maid Josine, Saori, Tasianna, and I would ride in House Helvas’s personal one, coached by Barathan. Compared to the one we had been using until now, this one was not only a bit larger, but also more adorned with decorations.
Remembering Barathan was the seneschal, the caretaker of a fief in his or her lord’s stead, I had to ask him why he was coming with us to Firwood when it should be his duty to stay here to monitor Carine village. He told me Count Helvas ordered him to come with Ellaine to monitor me in Firwood, so another servant was installed as the seneschal.
Once again, everybody from House Helvas was being very forthright about everything to me. Compared to my first meeting with them, if I asked them about something, they would simply answer it. No tricks or lies; any strings would be revealed the moment I questioned them.
Well, whatever they were planning, I appreciated it. It made interacting with them far easier when I didn’t have to walk through a web of double-speak. Still, if my future would be filled with even more nobles than just Ellaine and her family, then I should probably start learning how to decipher how nobles spoke.
Once our carriage began moving, the three servant carriages, the wagons with out belongings, and an entourage of knights and soldiers riding equeroches followed directly behind us. It honestly made me feel like a VIP.
As for the carriage itself, it actually felt far better than the previous one. As it was a bit larger, its seats were also more spacious, giving me room to rest my tail comfortably. There also seemed to be retractable tables attached to the carriage’s inner doors, wide enough to fit a tea set and maybe a few treats.
As everybody made themselves comfortable inside, Josine suddenly produced a sheet of parchment and handed it over to Saori. “It is rather unnecessary, but this is the Quest. Please, confirm all the details,” Ellaine told us.
Saori read it out loud for everybody to hear. The Quest Ellaine would issue my party was to escort their entourage from Helvas County to Sirius March’s capital, which meant Firwood was governed by a marquess or marchioness—a Greifnoble. This was a rank F quest that required my party to participate in the removal of any obstacles threatening the Helvas retinue’s safety during the trip. In payment, we would gain 1000 Davi and one rank F point, which I had no idea what it was, but I assumed it has something to do with the rank system inside the adventurer guilds.
The Quest itself was just a pretense for Ellaine to speak with Saori and Tasianna more freely, as it was considered rude of a noble to have an extended conversation with another noble’s retainers or servants. Nobles valued appearances, and this was a round-about way to go about it for Ellaine. Getting to know adventurers better wasn’t seen as improper, and we would be employed by Ellaine until we fulfilled the Quest.
I accepted the Quest once the formalities were done, and Ellaine dropped her noble persona and returned to the casual one I’d recently gotten to know. “Excellent, now before we speak, shall we prepare tea? The midday sun hasn’t arrived yet and it will be nightfall before we reach the viscounty. Josine, would you please?”
The trip to Firwood would take three days with the carriages. We would spend the first night at the mansion of a viscount, who was Count Helvas’s neighbor. On the second night, we planned to stop at a small village inside the Sirius March, and then finally arrive the next morning at the capital of the region, Firwood.
If nothing bad happened, we would follow Ellaine’s schedule to a T. Well, I knew I just jinxed myself here, but whatever. Come at me, evil lurkers, this idol wouldn’t back down! But, before we actually fight, let me finish my tea and cake first.
Josine, Ellaine’s personal maid since her childhood, prepared the tea while Tasianna took care of the cake. A tea party was nothing without cake, right? During the preparations, I had the feeling Tasianna was leering at Josine, slowing her movements down a bit. Although I wasn’t sure, I bumped her side with my elbow to remind her to behave. I guess being stuck inside a carriage with two humans for three days would not be a pleasant experience for Tasianna, but I honestly hope she would learn from this and adapt her opinion on humans a bit.
“Lady Ellaine,” I uttered after taking a sip, finally remembering something important I had to ask her. “Would you possibly know an expert on mana paths? A surgeon, maybe?”
“An expert?” she repeated, giving my question some serious thought. “Hmm, I am not personally acquainted with them, but I believe either Lady Duchess Morgiana or a noble house in her duchy should have a mana surgeon. The Morgiana duchy is located on the borders of the Elven kingdom, and they had a good history with the elves before the ‘War for the Faefolk.’ House Morgiana are experts in the arcane, as most of their knowledge came from the forests of Saelariel, which also caused their relationship … Uhm, pardon me, I shouldn’t gossip.”
Saying that will just make me even more curious … but I could already guess it’s politics related.
From what I could gather from that small amount of info, House Morgiana once had a good relationship with the elven kingdom, Saelariel, but it probably deteriorated after what the humans did to the fairies. Both dwarves and elves then went to war against the human race, and all I knew was that the humans lost. I didn’t know which factions or countries participated in it.
Nevertheless, the elves and fairies have isolated themselves from the humans, blocked the flow of elven goods like yeast to the kingdom of Artorias and restricted any human entry into their forests. If House Morgiana had a good relationship with the elves and then this war came to be, I would guess the former would be pretty angry at the ones responsible for it.
Did the royal family of Artorias start it? I didn’t know, but I think I should be wary just in case. Better not get involved in anything political.
“Where was I? Concerning a mana surgeon, why do you ask, Lady Hestia?”
“I had an accident during my stay in the Belzac forest and wasn’t able to fix the problem with magic correctly,” I told Ellaine, leaving most of the details out.
She widened her eyes in surprise. “Well, it shouldn’t be surprising. I heard from my father that the forest was given a rank C for how dangerous it is, not because of any particularly strong monsters, but because of the wide variety of monsters residing there. Many of them possess abilities to inflict debilitating status effects. Anyway, if you require a surgeon, then wouldn’t Miss Tasianna know more? She is a wind elf, after all.”
Tasianna frowned for a second at being addressed but quickly recovered. She took a moment to form her words, and then spoke them as if she rehearsed them multiple times inside her head. “We had to make a detour into the Kingdom of Artorias, as Lady Hestia’s safety was more important. I am not an expert on the subject, so we require the talents of a professional.”
Ellaine frowned a bit as she noticed the cold reception she received from Tasianna, but didn’t say a word about it. Instead, she turned her head to me and asked, “Would you require it urgently? Their services are expensive, not to mention most nobles are currently at the kingdom’s capital and would be irked if they had to travel now. Of course, once we confirm your [Princess] title, the royal family would gladly provide you with our best mana surgeon.”
“You do know you could use [Identify] on me, right? I wouldn’t mind it, honestly. I trust you to not throw the information around too much,” I offered as a sign of trust, but instead, Ellaine contorted her face, mortified by my suggestion.
“No, no, no, you mustn’t even suggest such an outrageous idea, Lady Hestia!” she rebuked while wagging her finger at me. “I apologize for raising my voice, but appraising another noble? It might be different in your country, but the moment somebody notices you use [Identify] here, not only you but also your whole house might be ostracized by the majority of the respectable noble houses. Here, look at my armlet, Lady Hestia.”
Josine immediately started pulling the right sleeve of Ellaine’s dress up, revealing a thin silver armlet in the shape of a flower. Ellaine pointed at it and continued, “This is a [Ring of Identification]. My [Identify] is actually still level one, since it seems my proficiency with it isn’t very good, but by wearing this armlet, I am allowed to use [Identify Lv. 5] and [Identity Blocker Lv. 5]. However, what is important is its primary effect. As a mage, you should have [Identify], right, Lady Hestia? Please, take a look.”
Identify.
Nani?! (What?!) C-Counterattack! I thought, faking my bafflement.
“Nobody would trust somebody if they used a skill to invade somebody’s private information. Spies exist, yes, but every notable noble possesses some version of this manatech, and if you were to be exposed so easily, then that says a lot about your abilities,” Ellaine slowly spoke, making sure I understood what she was saying. “More influential nobles will have higher tier versions of these armlets. Please, Lady Hestia, if you have ever had this maddening idea, banish it.”
Seeing her so angry was certainly a surprise, and her explanation also suddenly validated my concerns of using [Identify] willy-nilly on humans. Apologizing to Ellaine was only a small price for finally gaining a reason to not use the skill on everybody I saw. It should be reserved for my enemies.
After the tension quietened down, Ellaine began talking to Saori, finally taking the opportunity to speak to my friends. “So, tell me, Miss Saori. I’ve heard rumors that you might be the seamstress who produced that wonderful piece of purple mana cloth for my father. Would it be incorrect to presume you also made Lady Hestia’s beautiful dresses? I especially loved the one she wore to the dinner, and the one for her second song was intriguing. Is that a dress from Loatryx?”
Saori smiled proudly, overjoyed to hear she could speak fashion with Ellaine. “I am her personal seamstress, Lady Ellaine. I wouldn’t say my fashion sense is traditional Loatryxian, you may call it … innovative. Lady Hestia has a specific vision, which I have the honor to bring to reality! If I may, could I question your ladyship and Josine about Artorias’s current fashion trends?”
“With how dazzling and bewitching Lady Hestia looked, I believe the red dress could possibly start a trend, but I will indulge you if you require my advice. The boutiques at our capital of Griffonpeak produce mesmerizing work.”
Although discussions could spice everything up, we technically didn’t have much to talk about Loatryx or Kargryx really. We never were there in the first place. The only thing we could talk about was our experience in the Belzac forest. Ellaine was a mage but until now she had only been gaining levels through small Quests during her stay at the royal academy.
She, and, like most of the other young nobles, had never actually fought or killed a monster. This was reserved for the time they graduate and either join the mage’s guild or a knight’s order. Young nobles had to first be educated on how to be proper members of aristocratic society, while also learning how to control their abilities. Until they did, most never needed to fight monsters.
So, Ellaine was ecstatic like a little kid when Saori and I began describing our travels in the Belzac forest. I started with my time at Belzac mountain, omitting the fact Saori and Tasianna weren’t there and that I was literally just born, and then gave Saori a chance to speak once I reached Saori’s first appearance. Time flew by like crazy and we still hadn’t been able to finish our troll encounter story when we reached the viscounty.
The viscount wasn’t there, as he was attending the winter balls. There at his mansion, I also learned that Ellaine was considered “sick” by everybody. This was all an excuse, of course, one spread around by her mother to prevent her daughter’s absence from negatively impacting her social status.
A priest could’ve cured her supposed sickness, but I learned that priests, like nobles, usually disliked traveling during the winter. As such, my role as a holy mage was used to explain to the viscount’s seneschal why Ellaine was traveling with me. As I said, nobles loved their round-about ways.
Anyway, to the mansion itself, it was clearly a downgrade compared to House Helvas’s. Carine Village was considered a rich fief and Count Helvas also had several businesses inside Firwood. Using the products he received as tribute from the village, he would sell or turn them into valuable trading goods. This was how he could afford the splendor in his mansion.
About the meals themselves, they were all served by Ellaine’s chefs. Both Tasianna and Saori weren’t welcomed by them, apparently, as they didn’t want foreign cooks to enter the kitchen. Ellaine, being a noble, was indifferent to the issue, stating it would be more proper for her to host me. The three of us reluctantly accepted it, as making a fuss was a drag.
We spent the night there and continued our trip the following morning. Our storytelling continued until we reached a small village, by which point we’d only barely gotten to our first meeting with Rajah, my precious little virigress cub.
Ahhh, I honestly hope he and his family were doing well. My “fans” counter hadn’t decreased, so nothing should’ve happened, but I still couldn’t help but worry a bit. I really did miss both him and the lizardmen. I hope Caszcur, Apsala, and Aksmias were all doing fine in Saelariel or Caedhul, the land of the levianewts.
The village’s mansion wasn’t anything special, as its purpose was to accommodate traveling nobles. For that reason, it was quite large, almost like a hotel mansion. It was decorated like you’d expect a noble's house to be, and the stay was acceptable. Nothing really special, though. Only the toilets were …Well, let me say I didn’t want to talk about it.
Morning came, and the third day of our trip started. Despite my thinking I would jinx it, our trip went by calmly. I did manage to see a few rank G and F monsters, but I just left them alone. They weren’t threatening our little caravan, and it wasn’t worth it to kill them. I mean, would you bother trying to stomp on every single ant? Okay, that might have sounded a bit too arrogant. I guess my sunfang dragon side was showing a bit.
On a more positive note, I finally saw Tasianna interact with somebody aside from us. When Josine was trying to make tea for us this morning, Tasianna quickly stopped her, telling her to just watch how she made our tea. Josine should have seen Tasianna make tea already during the barracuda event, but this time, Tasianna was actively explaining her actions and the whys and hows. Josine was speechless, keeping quiet as she soaked in the knowledge Tasianna was giving. Even Barathan opened the coach’s latch to listen to it.
Hie hie, you two better be impressed. This is my super maid here! Tasianna Marina Silverpond, the best tea brewer I will ever know, probably.
The time flew by, and we finally reached the capital of Sirius March, Firwood.
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Sneaky, Aurena. Well, she was right that I would try upgrading the skill. Meh.
Well, I didn’t know what to say when I first reviewed all these System messages. I mean, what could I possibly say more than “I ACTUALLY GAVE MY FIRST CONCERT, AHHHHH!” OMG, my first idol concert and I made it through all three songs as I planned, and I only had an emotional meltdown at the very end of it. Ha ha! What a wonderful way to welcome the new year!
Like I said, today was the very first day of the new year. The 1st of WinterSun in the year 2679, and it would also be my last day in Carine village. As I planned it with Elliane, Lorena, and Ruld, I would travel with them to Firwood to help them with their problems, in addition to continuing my career as an adventurer and, wait for it … AN IDOL! A true, bonafide idol, man!
Haha! Aaanyways … After breakfast, Barathan arrived at our house, almost too punctually, to pack up all the furniture I got from Count Helvas. Although they were presents, I gave them back to Ellaine, since our party couldn’t use them. We had no real home, and it would be a total waste to leave them in our current house.
He and his group of butlers packed everything onto the train of carriages, and we then picked up Lorena and Ruld, who finished giving their farewells to both families and friends. Funnily enough, I believed the majority of the village became my “fan” at yesterday’s show according to my number of [The Light] followers. As a way to thank them for attending and being an amazing crowd, I gave them one final sermon and [Prayer] before leaving, acting my role as their shrine maiden one last time.
Reaching the 100 fans milestone was already awesome, as it gave me another damage modifier for my holy spells, but hearing the villagers call me the “best clergywoman ever” was quite endearing, especially when they told me to return one day and hold another idol concert. I had the suspicion they also wanted the free food, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt.
Once we departed to the Helvas mansion with Barathan as our carriage driver, I instantly shut my eyes, as I had a slight headache from what happened yesterday. It wasn’t anything serious, just a bit of fatigue. The whole concert was an emotional rollercoaster for me, and it all climaxed once I performed “Promise.” Ballads were wonderfully emotional if done right, and the music I chose for it was too overwhelming for me. That song … I did my very best.
While I wasn’t actually sleeping—just resting—I took a chance to review the new skill I got: [Idol Lv. 1]. Although I was excited to have unlocked the [The Light]’s [Sacred Amp] milestone, and knowing I could get rid of my dark element weakness with the next, I still found immense gratification from [Idol]. It was like the esteem of getting a medal after you got 1st place in a competition. This skill was a badge of honor to me, proving how I successfully fulfilled the first stage of my long-awaited dream.
Now, aside from the fact that Aurena secretly slipped a message to me, knowing full well I would try using SP to upgrade the skill, I took a look at how the skill actually works. While I haven’t registered a song or tested it out yet, I could presume from the description that any song I registered would probably begin displaying RPG mechanics. It sounded similar to a bard ability, honestly.
I didn’t have time now, but I would try it out in Firwood or maybe on our way there.
“Lady Hestia, please wake up. We have arrived.” I heard Barathan say from the coach’s seat.
Opening my eyes, I could see Saori packing up teacups and a teapot back into her storage, while Lorena and Ruld began anxiously grooming themselves, making sure nothing was wrong with their appearances. Since they would meet Ellaine, the fief lord’s daughter, they were wearing their cleanest clothes. Although they knew they weren’t in trouble, they still trembled as the carriage entered through the gates.
Once in front of the mansion’s doors, we left the carriage to see butlers and maids loading luggage into clean white wagons. We were let inside the mansion, where Ellaine was sipping tea in our usual meeting room.
“Lady Hestia! I am glad you have made it. May the light guide your path on this brilliant LightDay,” Ellaine greeted me with an elegant curtsey as always. “I managed to attend your concert yesterday. I must say, your voice was heavenly, and I especially was fond of your second song. You made my heart skip a beat, I must admit.”
Is that so? I’m pretty sure Saori mentioned you cried during my third song? I kept that to myself as it would be rude to tease her now.
Replying with an equally flawless curtsey, I greeted her with a Korean heart sign by overlapping my thumb with my index finger. “That’s great to hear. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lady Ellaine. As a traveling ‘shrine maiden,’ I bless you in Goddess Aurena’s name.”
After giving my greetings, I introduced Lorena and Ruld to her, as they were gonna travel with us, after all. Once she nodded, she turned her head to Lorena and called for her.
“Uhm, y-yes, your ladyship!” Lorena responded, kneeling before her.
“You may rise,” Ellaine ordered with the wave of her hand, maintaining a dignified expression. “I have heard your plea from Lady Hestia, and, using my authority as the daughter of Lord Count Helvas, I shall grant it. I will revoke your serfdom to Helvas County, making you a free woman now—a yeoman; however, that will also mean you will relinquish any right to call for our house’s support. You will no longer be affiliated to House Helvas. Will you accept, Lorena?”
Lorena stayed silent for a bit, thinking about it, but raised her head and looked Ellaine directly in the eyes. “Yes, my lady. I accept.”
Ellaine nodded before continuing in a reserved tone. “Good. I, Ellaine Fierro Helvas, revoke your status as a subject of House Helvas. You are officially a yeoman now. Once we reach Firwood, do not forget to re-issue your ID from the temple and apply for citizenship if you wish to stay in Firwood.”
“I thank you so very much, my lady. I will remember your mercy for my whole life.” Lorena bowed deeply before the young noble lady.
Once Ellaine did her duty as a noble, we all went outside. When I saw the amount of luggage packed into the wagons, it reminded me I had to hand over something to Ellaine. Barathan called over four butlers at my wish and I took out two boxes filled with ripe macula plants for them to place inside the wagons.
The mana absorbing macula plant was a stable for alchemy due to the mana water they produced once fully grown. If the earth was saturated with mana, they could grow up in a few seconds, making them invaluable for any alchemist. On the other hand, if the ground was low on mana, these things would probably die out.
Master Kush gave me two bags full of macula seeds before he left, so I could continue sparring with Saori and Tasianna. Since high mana concentration could cause monsters to spawn from thin air, my group did a full clean up around the concert area. Since we used a ton of magic to keep the concert operational, we ended up with two boxes full of macula plants
As per the agreement we made at the beginning of our stay here, I could continue training in Helvas County, but I had to hand over all the macula plants to House Helvas. These boxes were the spoils of my concert.
Once Ellaine accepted them, we entered the carriages. Lorena and Ruld would enter one of the three servant carriages, while Ellaine, her maid Josine, Saori, Tasianna, and I would ride in House Helvas’s personal one, coached by Barathan. Compared to the one we had been using until now, this one was not only a bit larger, but also more adorned with decorations.
Remembering Barathan was the seneschal, the caretaker of a fief in his or her lord’s stead, I had to ask him why he was coming with us to Firwood when it should be his duty to stay here to monitor Carine village. He told me Count Helvas ordered him to come with Ellaine to monitor me in Firwood, so another servant was installed as the seneschal.
Once again, everybody from House Helvas was being very forthright about everything to me. Compared to my first meeting with them, if I asked them about something, they would simply answer it. No tricks or lies; any strings would be revealed the moment I questioned them.
Well, whatever they were planning, I appreciated it. It made interacting with them far easier when I didn’t have to walk through a web of double-speak. Still, if my future would be filled with even more nobles than just Ellaine and her family, then I should probably start learning how to decipher how nobles spoke.
Once our carriage began moving, the three servant carriages, the wagons with out belongings, and an entourage of knights and soldiers riding equeroches followed directly behind us. It honestly made me feel like a VIP.
As for the carriage itself, it actually felt far better than the previous one. As it was a bit larger, its seats were also more spacious, giving me room to rest my tail comfortably. There also seemed to be retractable tables attached to the carriage’s inner doors, wide enough to fit a tea set and maybe a few treats.
As everybody made themselves comfortable inside, Josine suddenly produced a sheet of parchment and handed it over to Saori. “It is rather unnecessary, but this is the Quest. Please, confirm all the details,” Ellaine told us.
Saori read it out loud for everybody to hear. The Quest Ellaine would issue my party was to escort their entourage from Helvas County to Sirius March’s capital, which meant Firwood was governed by a marquess or marchioness—a Greifnoble. This was a rank F quest that required my party to participate in the removal of any obstacles threatening the Helvas retinue’s safety during the trip. In payment, we would gain 1000 Davi and one rank F point, which I had no idea what it was, but I assumed it has something to do with the rank system inside the adventurer guilds.
The Quest itself was just a pretense for Ellaine to speak with Saori and Tasianna more freely, as it was considered rude of a noble to have an extended conversation with another noble’s retainers or servants. Nobles valued appearances, and this was a round-about way to go about it for Ellaine. Getting to know adventurers better wasn’t seen as improper, and we would be employed by Ellaine until we fulfilled the Quest.
I accepted the Quest once the formalities were done, and Ellaine dropped her noble persona and returned to the casual one I’d recently gotten to know. “Excellent, now before we speak, shall we prepare tea? The midday sun hasn’t arrived yet and it will be nightfall before we reach the viscounty. Josine, would you please?”
The trip to Firwood would take three days with the carriages. We would spend the first night at the mansion of a viscount, who was Count Helvas’s neighbor. On the second night, we planned to stop at a small village inside the Sirius March, and then finally arrive the next morning at the capital of the region, Firwood.
If nothing bad happened, we would follow Ellaine’s schedule to a T. Well, I knew I just jinxed myself here, but whatever. Come at me, evil lurkers, this idol wouldn’t back down! But, before we actually fight, let me finish my tea and cake first.
Josine, Ellaine’s personal maid since her childhood, prepared the tea while Tasianna took care of the cake. A tea party was nothing without cake, right? During the preparations, I had the feeling Tasianna was leering at Josine, slowing her movements down a bit. Although I wasn’t sure, I bumped her side with my elbow to remind her to behave. I guess being stuck inside a carriage with two humans for three days would not be a pleasant experience for Tasianna, but I honestly hope she would learn from this and adapt her opinion on humans a bit.
“Lady Ellaine,” I uttered after taking a sip, finally remembering something important I had to ask her. “Would you possibly know an expert on mana paths? A surgeon, maybe?”
“An expert?” she repeated, giving my question some serious thought. “Hmm, I am not personally acquainted with them, but I believe either Lady Duchess Morgiana or a noble house in her duchy should have a mana surgeon. The Morgiana duchy is located on the borders of the Elven kingdom, and they had a good history with the elves before the ‘War for the Faefolk.’ House Morgiana are experts in the arcane, as most of their knowledge came from the forests of Saelariel, which also caused their relationship … Uhm, pardon me, I shouldn’t gossip.”
Saying that will just make me even more curious … but I could already guess it’s politics related.
From what I could gather from that small amount of info, House Morgiana once had a good relationship with the elven kingdom, Saelariel, but it probably deteriorated after what the humans did to the fairies. Both dwarves and elves then went to war against the human race, and all I knew was that the humans lost. I didn’t know which factions or countries participated in it.
Nevertheless, the elves and fairies have isolated themselves from the humans, blocked the flow of elven goods like yeast to the kingdom of Artorias and restricted any human entry into their forests. If House Morgiana had a good relationship with the elves and then this war came to be, I would guess the former would be pretty angry at the ones responsible for it.
Did the royal family of Artorias start it? I didn’t know, but I think I should be wary just in case. Better not get involved in anything political.
“Where was I? Concerning a mana surgeon, why do you ask, Lady Hestia?”
“I had an accident during my stay in the Belzac forest and wasn’t able to fix the problem with magic correctly,” I told Ellaine, leaving most of the details out.
She widened her eyes in surprise. “Well, it shouldn’t be surprising. I heard from my father that the forest was given a rank C for how dangerous it is, not because of any particularly strong monsters, but because of the wide variety of monsters residing there. Many of them possess abilities to inflict debilitating status effects. Anyway, if you require a surgeon, then wouldn’t Miss Tasianna know more? She is a wind elf, after all.”
Tasianna frowned for a second at being addressed but quickly recovered. She took a moment to form her words, and then spoke them as if she rehearsed them multiple times inside her head. “We had to make a detour into the Kingdom of Artorias, as Lady Hestia’s safety was more important. I am not an expert on the subject, so we require the talents of a professional.”
Ellaine frowned a bit as she noticed the cold reception she received from Tasianna, but didn’t say a word about it. Instead, she turned her head to me and asked, “Would you require it urgently? Their services are expensive, not to mention most nobles are currently at the kingdom’s capital and would be irked if they had to travel now. Of course, once we confirm your [Princess] title, the royal family would gladly provide you with our best mana surgeon.”
“You do know you could use [Identify] on me, right? I wouldn’t mind it, honestly. I trust you to not throw the information around too much,” I offered as a sign of trust, but instead, Ellaine contorted her face, mortified by my suggestion.
“No, no, no, you mustn’t even suggest such an outrageous idea, Lady Hestia!” she rebuked while wagging her finger at me. “I apologize for raising my voice, but appraising another noble? It might be different in your country, but the moment somebody notices you use [Identify] here, not only you but also your whole house might be ostracized by the majority of the respectable noble houses. Here, look at my armlet, Lady Hestia.”
Josine immediately started pulling the right sleeve of Ellaine’s dress up, revealing a thin silver armlet in the shape of a flower. Ellaine pointed at it and continued, “This is a [Ring of Identification]. My [Identify] is actually still level one, since it seems my proficiency with it isn’t very good, but by wearing this armlet, I am allowed to use [Identify Lv. 5] and [Identity Blocker Lv. 5]. However, what is important is its primary effect. As a mage, you should have [Identify], right, Lady Hestia? Please, take a look.”
Identify.
Nani?! (What?!) C-Counterattack! I thought, faking my bafflement.
“Nobody would trust somebody if they used a skill to invade somebody’s private information. Spies exist, yes, but every notable noble possesses some version of this manatech, and if you were to be exposed so easily, then that says a lot about your abilities,” Ellaine slowly spoke, making sure I understood what she was saying. “More influential nobles will have higher tier versions of these armlets. Please, Lady Hestia, if you have ever had this maddening idea, banish it.”
Seeing her so angry was certainly a surprise, and her explanation also suddenly validated my concerns of using [Identify] willy-nilly on humans. Apologizing to Ellaine was only a small price for finally gaining a reason to not use the skill on everybody I saw. It should be reserved for my enemies.
After the tension quietened down, Ellaine began talking to Saori, finally taking the opportunity to speak to my friends. “So, tell me, Miss Saori. I’ve heard rumors that you might be the seamstress who produced that wonderful piece of purple mana cloth for my father. Would it be incorrect to presume you also made Lady Hestia’s beautiful dresses? I especially loved the one she wore to the dinner, and the one for her second song was intriguing. Is that a dress from Loatryx?”
Saori smiled proudly, overjoyed to hear she could speak fashion with Ellaine. “I am her personal seamstress, Lady Ellaine. I wouldn’t say my fashion sense is traditional Loatryxian, you may call it … innovative. Lady Hestia has a specific vision, which I have the honor to bring to reality! If I may, could I question your ladyship and Josine about Artorias’s current fashion trends?”
“With how dazzling and bewitching Lady Hestia looked, I believe the red dress could possibly start a trend, but I will indulge you if you require my advice. The boutiques at our capital of Griffonpeak produce mesmerizing work.”
Although discussions could spice everything up, we technically didn’t have much to talk about Loatryx or Kargryx really. We never were there in the first place. The only thing we could talk about was our experience in the Belzac forest. Ellaine was a mage but until now she had only been gaining levels through small Quests during her stay at the royal academy.
She, and, like most of the other young nobles, had never actually fought or killed a monster. This was reserved for the time they graduate and either join the mage’s guild or a knight’s order. Young nobles had to first be educated on how to be proper members of aristocratic society, while also learning how to control their abilities. Until they did, most never needed to fight monsters.
So, Ellaine was ecstatic like a little kid when Saori and I began describing our travels in the Belzac forest. I started with my time at Belzac mountain, omitting the fact Saori and Tasianna weren’t there and that I was literally just born, and then gave Saori a chance to speak once I reached Saori’s first appearance. Time flew by like crazy and we still hadn’t been able to finish our troll encounter story when we reached the viscounty.
The viscount wasn’t there, as he was attending the winter balls. There at his mansion, I also learned that Ellaine was considered “sick” by everybody. This was all an excuse, of course, one spread around by her mother to prevent her daughter’s absence from negatively impacting her social status.
A priest could’ve cured her supposed sickness, but I learned that priests, like nobles, usually disliked traveling during the winter. As such, my role as a holy mage was used to explain to the viscount’s seneschal why Ellaine was traveling with me. As I said, nobles loved their round-about ways.
Anyway, to the mansion itself, it was clearly a downgrade compared to House Helvas’s. Carine Village was considered a rich fief and Count Helvas also had several businesses inside Firwood. Using the products he received as tribute from the village, he would sell or turn them into valuable trading goods. This was how he could afford the splendor in his mansion.
About the meals themselves, they were all served by Ellaine’s chefs. Both Tasianna and Saori weren’t welcomed by them, apparently, as they didn’t want foreign cooks to enter the kitchen. Ellaine, being a noble, was indifferent to the issue, stating it would be more proper for her to host me. The three of us reluctantly accepted it, as making a fuss was a drag.
We spent the night there and continued our trip the following morning. Our storytelling continued until we reached a small village, by which point we’d only barely gotten to our first meeting with Rajah, my precious little virigress cub.
Ahhh, I honestly hope he and his family were doing well. My “fans” counter hadn’t decreased, so nothing should’ve happened, but I still couldn’t help but worry a bit. I really did miss both him and the lizardmen. I hope Caszcur, Apsala, and Aksmias were all doing fine in Saelariel or Caedhul, the land of the levianewts.
The village’s mansion wasn’t anything special, as its purpose was to accommodate traveling nobles. For that reason, it was quite large, almost like a hotel mansion. It was decorated like you’d expect a noble's house to be, and the stay was acceptable. Nothing really special, though. Only the toilets were …Well, let me say I didn’t want to talk about it.
Morning came, and the third day of our trip started. Despite my thinking I would jinx it, our trip went by calmly. I did manage to see a few rank G and F monsters, but I just left them alone. They weren’t threatening our little caravan, and it wasn’t worth it to kill them. I mean, would you bother trying to stomp on every single ant? Okay, that might have sounded a bit too arrogant. I guess my sunfang dragon side was showing a bit.
On a more positive note, I finally saw Tasianna interact with somebody aside from us. When Josine was trying to make tea for us this morning, Tasianna quickly stopped her, telling her to just watch how she made our tea. Josine should have seen Tasianna make tea already during the barracuda event, but this time, Tasianna was actively explaining her actions and the whys and hows. Josine was speechless, keeping quiet as she soaked in the knowledge Tasianna was giving. Even Barathan opened the coach’s latch to listen to it.
Hie hie, you two better be impressed. This is my super maid here! Tasianna Marina Silverpond, the best tea brewer I will ever know, probably.
The time flew by, and we finally reached the capital of Sirius March, Firwood.
AbyssRaven Next arc confirmed. Let's go!
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